Zimbabwe is targeting a record 50 tonnes of gold this year up from 35.38 tonnes achieved last year as government seek to prop up output from the artisanal miners who have overtaken large gold producers contribution in recent years.
Last year artisanal miners produced 18 tonnes which was above 50% of total national output as the country races against time to meet its US$ 12 billion mining industry target by end of this year from around US$ 7 billion currently.
The ambitious target is set to be complemented by expansion projects undertaken by large gold producers that have since completed various expansion projects to increase output.
“Our target is over 50 tonnes this year. We have several mines that have expanded their operations such as Blanket Mine, Pickstone, Rebecca and Kuvimba Group,” said Mines and Mineral Development Minister Winston Chitando said at the launch of the US$ 10 gold facility in Harare today.
Government has been targeting various productive sector for financing with drawdowns from the International Monetary fund’s allocation of US$ 958 million as part of a General Allocation of US$650 billion that was released globally to all IMF member countries.
“The Gold Facility has the potential to close the funding gap and spearhead increased productivity, as well as finance bankable projects with a focus on the value addition,” said Finance and Economic Development Minister Prof. Mthuli Ncube.
The gold facility will be broken as follows: US$ 5 million Artisanal Gold Small Scale Miners Fund (AGSMF) complemented by another US$5 million Gold Service Centre Revolving Facility (GSCF) which should bridge the financing gap for players in this sub-sector as well as construction of 6 gold centres that will stimulate productivity.
A Gold Service Centre is a one stop shop that offers technical services to miners, access to milling centre, access to capital and a ready market for produced gold by small scale miners to Fidelity Gold.
A holistic approach to service provision, in terms of provision of technical support, transport, milling services, on-site technical guidance to the miners, laboratory services, equipping the miners, purchasing gold realised by the miners and assisting miners repair their broken-down equipment as well as supply of consumables.
The implementing agency for the USD$5 million Gold Service Centre Revolving Facility (GSCF) will be the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC). In this regard, ZMDC will be responsible for the construction of the Gold Service Centres. The disbursement for the GSCF will be done through the BancABC Bank.
According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe statistics, the country’s total mineral exports increased from only US$889.1 million in the 2008, to US$5,085.43 million by 2021.
The exports grew by an annual average rate of 39.1 per cent for the period 2008 to 2021. Zimbabwe’s top mineral export-gold, increased from US$1.2 billion in 2020 to US$1.7 billion in 2021 according to RBZ.
The RBZ attributed the 42 percent increase in 2021 to improved gold output and firm prices as global economies recovered from COVID-19 lockdowns.
